Getting Schooled

Sorry for the posting hiatus!

I’ve been taking classes, reading art instruction books, and experimenting like a mad scientist. So, I’m going to spend a few posts on the output of all this learning.

First up – Acrylics. In preparation for a weekend course on Contemporary Landscape Painting, I picked up a book at the library (of all places) called “Secrets of Acrylic: Landscapes Start To Finish” by Jerry Yarnell to practice. Yarnell teaches you to build a landscape painting a stage at a time – it’s been very helpful in teaching me some techniques I didn’t know. The results have been pretty good, for the most part. (There are some duds – like the rocks I painted that look more like piles of poop!) My husband is making his way through this book too, and his painting is really improving, too.

Country Fence – acrylics on acrylic paper

Seaside – acrylics on acrylic paper

Then I took the weekend landscape painting course. I was in way over my head. The instructor was helping the other attendees (most professional painters) refine their unique painting styles. I don’t have a style yet, and so my weekend’s output was trying out various styles. I wasn’t comfortable in any of them, and the paintings consequently weren’t successful (AKA they aren’t fit for posting). The instructor (a kind man and brilliant painter, John C. Leonard) encouraged me to keep painting and that my style will eventually emerge. So, back to the book for more skill-building, and practice, practice!